Of Fish and Toads
by FluffytehMuffin
Summary: A dying wish and a mysterious scroll. At the request of her mother Midori finds herself on a trip she hoped she'd never have to take. Find your father. Midori doesn't even know where to start! Not to mention she's not exactly bursting with joy to find the man. A promise is a promise.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N**_ I am going to continue Turning From the Sun! I promise. I just had another plot bunny nestle in my brain. Well... actually there's like fifty million of them. They get to breeding ya know? Anyway. This story I've actually been fiddling with for about a month now. I'm super excited because it revolves around one of my favorite characters!

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"Refreshing, isn't it?" we say<br>A summer sky as clear as day  
>Let's breathe the air, try not to cry<br>It's time to say our goodbyes**_

* * *

><p>"Hikari-chan! It has to be a steady stream! If you keep on like that you're going to fall." I chided the eight year old as she waved her arms to keep balance. Yagami, her brother, snickered next to her as he ducked to avoid a flailing arm. Twins until the end those two. A grin found my lips as the green haired girl stabilized. Despite their antics I had to hand it to them, they were going to make great shinobi.<p>

"Eh, Gami-baka keeps pushing me!" she whined. Yagami threw his hands up innocently, but I knew the brat better. He was quick, but I saw him nudging her foot. Nothing escaped my eyes. Even as his sister accused him he nudged her subtly. Previous statement retracted. They would make great shinobi's if they ever figured out how to grow up.

"You'll be a lot worse off if you fall Hikari-chan." the two were hanging upside down on a branch. Would I actually let her fall? No, but she needed to learn to stop whining. Threatening seemed to do the trick with her. Hikari was so used to being treated like a princess. A little tough love would do her good.

"Yagami-kun, how do you expect your comrade to trust you if you keep sabotaging them?" I chided the boy. He gave a defeated sigh and grabbed one of her arms.

"Hai." he droned in a bored manner. "When can we learn the cool stuff? This is boring."

"Oi, bratling, don't you start whining too." Hikari let out an offended scoff and her brother simply sighed. "Besides, Akio-sensei will have my hide if I don't leave him anything to teach."

Words I'd repeated before. First to the the blonde haired boy in Hacho Village. He'd been the least promising of them all. I'd only been thirteen then, but I wanted to help him defend himself from bullies. When I was fourteen it was a girl in Saga valley. Her mother was a whore, and I didn't want to see the same thing happen to her. So I taught her to fight. Now I was sixteen and the twins of Kisaragi Village were my pet project.

All I wanted to do was make a bit of difference in this harsh world. Having no village to truly call my own gave me literally no direction in my life. There was no governing body to tell me what to do. No one besides my mother to keep me from being idle.

Kaa-san was a shinobi I think. She'd taught me since I was young how to fight. Every where we went she did small jobs that were to sensitive for nobles to use shinobi from hidden villages. In other words, she was a mercenary that did the dirty work of nobles. We moved constantly from place to place. Never staying for to long in the fear of being caught. I don't know what she was running from, but our constant movement made it hard to make friends. Kaa-chan and I had always been on our own...

"Midori-san!" a shrill voice called from the trees behind me. Turning I looked to to see a dark haired woman running our way. She paused a good distance from us to catch her breath. That look on her face told me enough. Fear bubbled in the bottom of my stomach. Hikari made a questioning noise.

Show no emotion.

"First one to fall has to do the others chores for a week. I leave it to you brats." I winked before darting off to the new comer. Both of the twins shouted after me. Not but a second later I heard them both com crashing down. Normally I would find this amusing, but my sole focus was now on the dark haired woman.

"Hana?" there was a shrillness to my voice as I appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.. Not now. Please not now.

"Akane-sama.." the drop in her tone made my stomach do flips. Her mouth turned down in a frown, and what little of a good mood I had disappeared. She didn't need to say any more to me. Not bothering to wait on her I took off towards the elaborately styled building not far from here. As I lept away the only thought on my mind was that she better not die before I get there. If she died I would never forgive her.

* * *

><p>The amount of noise I made entering our home would make one hard pressed to believe I was trained in the shinobi arts. A passerby probably would think me a terrible ninja instead of being the complete bad ass that I am. Even though it was structurally superior to most of the buildings around us, the home we'd been 'given' by the local lord shook as I flung the door open. Servants scattered as I stormed past them. Not bothering to take off my shoes I tracked a line of mud behind me. Let them glare at me. Glaring was better then the sympathetic stares I got most of the time. I didn't want their pity. I didn't want their understanding.<p>

Standing at the door to my Kaa-can's room was the medic and her assistant. I paused a moment and glared at her. She opened her mouth and spoke, but I didn't hear. Did they take me for an idiot? At sixteen years old I could handle the fact that mother way dying. I'd seen people die before. What difference did it make that this was my mother? Steeling myself I locked away the emotions churning in my belly. Stiffly I stood and waited for them to leave.

"Stop brooding." came my Kaa-chan's voice from the other side of the door. Biting the inside of my cheek I slowly opened the door. "Come, sit by me, little koi, Kaa-chan has a story to tell you."

I will not cry.

Quietly I went to my mother's side. In the dim candle light her brown hair gleamed red. Her name sake.. Green eyes that once sparkled were dull with weakness. Even motioning for me to come over seemed like a feat. Sighing I sat on the bed and curled in her lap like I was a child. Her hand ran through my hair, and I felt the smallest spark of happiness. If only we could stay like this.

"Its time I told you about your father." happiness slipped through my fingers as it evaporated. One thing I could careless about was the dead beat that left us alone. A chuckled slipped from her as her hands danced along my tensing back muscles. Softly she tugged at a long strand of my hair. "You will listen. There are things you have to know, and I.. don't have the time to go into detail."

"I don't see what he has to do with this situation." I said dejectedly. My cheeks puffed into a pout and I shifted to look at her.

"Quite a grudge you carry on your shoulders, koi." she said in an amused manner. "When I'm gone he'll be all you have left in this world."

"Sixteen years I've lived with out him. Besides, what can he do for me that I can't already do by myself?"

"Your father is a great shinobi. I suppose that's why I was so keen on having in my bed." her eyes got misty as she got lost in a memory. "Ah, and I was not disappointed."

"Kaa-chan!" came my mortified reply. Sitting up I held my head as I willed away the image of my mother mattress dancing with a man. She laughed again. Something rasped in the back of her throat and she coughed. The time was coming.

"You and him are more a like then you realize. I want you to find him."

"Absolutely not"

"Would you deny your mother's dying wish?"

"That's got to be cheating."

"Well?"

Tch, leave it to her to guilt me into doing something I didn't want to do. Despite the heaving of her chest as she strained to breath my mother was giving me a cheeky grin. How could I say no to that face? Completely and utterly unfair for her to force me into this, but seeing her carefree attitude unaffected by her impending death softened my heart.

"Even if I wanted to . I wouldn't even know where to start. Unless you can summon him or something." a last ditch effort to keep from doing this. Let me just stay. I wanted to hold her hand as she lef this world. I wanted to be here to comfort her.

"Jaa!" from nowhere she produced a scroll. The corner of my eye twitched."This should get you started. He left it for me that night. Said if I ever wanted to see him again I just had to use what was inside."

"So let me get this straight. You want me to use directions in a scroll that's over sixteen years old to find a man that could very well be dead?" I asked snatching it from her.

"That's the plan! Wait!" she stopped me as I went to open it. I raised an eyebrow as I looked at her. I was going to miss her. Spirits I was going to miss her. Don't think about it. Shinobi and emotion are not compatible. Squash it. Don't let her down.

"Promise me, Midori. Promise me you'll give him a chance." she was using my name. Shit, that means I can't say no.

"Yeah, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'll like him. Will that make you happy?"

"Very much so." she said with a content hum. Patting my hair she leaned back on her pillows. "I know you don't understand, but I think he'll love you as much as I do when he gets to know you. There's no one who could not like my precious Midori. Though I'm not sure he'll ever love you as much as I do."

"Well duh, Kaa-chan loves me the most. But I love Kaa-chan more then water, and that's saying something you know." it was an old joke of ours. We'd always go back on saying 'I love you' before bed. It turned into a weird thing. We'd always declare our love in some over the top nonsensical way. It got a laugh out of her.

"I love you more then life itself." my heart clenched. "Now open it."

Despite my effort to keep my face stone like a tear managed to worm its way down my cheek. Quickly wiped it away. I would not mourn until she was truly gone. Until then I would always be her smiling child. Until she drew her last breath I would keep her happy. Forcing a small smile I fiddled with the seal on the scroll. Slicing it with my nail I opened it.

"Ja ne, koi." was the last thing I heard from my mother as smoke erupted around me.

* * *

><p>Question of the day<p>

_**What are your favorite colors?**_!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Long chapter since I took so long to update this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto

* * *

><p><em><strong>Crave a home I've never had<strong>_  
><em><strong>Though I guess it ain't too bad<strong>_  
><em><strong>"Let's just leave and go back home"<strong>_  
><em><strong>Take my hand and fly away<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Kaa-chan!" I screeched as the white smoke clouded my vision. There was a moment of weightlessness, and I readied myself to fall off the bed. Except I never hit the polished wooden floors of that overly luxurious manor. Wind rustled my hair and the smoke dispersed.<p>

For the love of...

A string of incoherent curses ran through my mind. White hair tangled in my face as I looked down to see the ground fast approaching. Placing the scroll between my teeth I started forming hand signs. Fast. The last thing I wanted was to pancake onto the ground. My little adventure would be over pretty quick if that happened. Molding my chakra I changed the solid Earth inside of me to wind. Using my arms to direct my momentum I started to spin.

Air gathered around me and my dizzying twirl started to get faster and faster. Soon enough I had a small little cyclone surrounding me. Once the spinning air was established I stopped my body so that I sat in the middle of my own personal twister. A mental check on my chakra left me feeling miffed. Wind was always so draining on my system. Concentrating hard I directed the wind to push up on me so I would descend at a slower pace.

Eventually my feet planted on solid ground. A nice layer of sweat had formed on my brow. Groaning with the relief of not being a flat dead mess I dropped to my knees. A bit dramatic, but honestly I could give two shits right about now. My stomach was a jumble of butterflies and nausea. Avoiding death had not been on my list of things to do today.

In fact.

Of all the things that could have come from that stupid scroll. A map would have been the most useful. Not that a giant X on a map would mean sixteen years later this ass hole would be in the same spot, but I could at least work with a map. With a map I could convince myself that a few months worth of searching was enough to keep a clear conscience. A letter with some cryptic description of any given location would have been the next viable option. Maybe some kind of trinket left as a token of endearment. A compass? SOMETHING.

No, I got a fucking summoning scroll?

Is that even what this was?

Fuming I pulled the scroll from my mouth and finished unraveling it. Sure enough there was a mess of seals that made absolutely no sense to me. Sealing wasn't exactly an easy art to learn. Even harder still when you didn't have anyone to teach you. All of those nonsensical symbols sat there on the pretty whiteness mocking me.

"Of all the stupid, ridiculous, USELESS things you could have possibly left." I screeched in fury scrambling to my feet. "Couldn't have left something practical could you? Stupid man and your stupid stupid scroll!"

The last part was said pretty loud. Something between a scream and snarl slipped through my lips. Squeezing my green eyes shut I turned a random direction and threw the thing as hard as I could. What followed was not hearing the stupid scroll disappear into the forest. That was what I wanted to hear. Instead I was met with a grunt and the sound of that infernal thing hitting the ground. It even had the audacity to roll back and hit my foot. Hands clenched and the corner of my left eye twitched. Now I had to apologize to the dolt I had assaulted.

Deep breaths Midori.

Opening my eyes I felt that deep calming breath catch in my throat. Sitting or was it standing? Regardless, in front of me was a giant freaking frog. Probably my size in terms of height. He, definitely looked like a he (I'm not about to check for parts either!), was rubbing his head from where he'd no doubt been hit. I stood there and gaped like an idiot. Not only was this frog giant, but between his lips was a cigarette?

"You.. You're.. a frog?" that got his attention.

"Toad. I'm a toad lady."

* * *

><p>"This can't be happening." I had a hand on my forehead as I paced back and forth. "First that stupid scroll. Now a talking frog!"<p>

"Toad! Right here, lady." he snapped at me his eye now twitching. I cringed feeling a little guilty.

"My bad. My bad. I just wasn't ready to see a talking fro...er..toad." I sighed and stopped pacing. My nerves were still going crazy, but I needed to cool it on the crazy act. You know what. What the hell. Abandoning my cautious nature, which was almost non existent to begin with, I planted myself next to him on the ground.

"Seeing a human come falling out the sky wasn't exactly on my to do list either." he took a drag of his cig. Smoking talking toads. I had to be hallucinating. "How the hell did you get up there anyway?"

Sighing, as I seemed to be doing a lot of that now, I ruffled my hair a bit. There was still plenty of adrenaline cruising through my veins, but I felt the crash coming. Lazily I kicked the scroll. We both watched it spin and roll just a few feet away. Frog-man gave me a confused side ways look and I shrugged my shoulders. I had plenty of reasons to hate the stupid thing.

"Present from my father, who ever the hell he may be. Opened the damn thing and _poof_, one minute I'm in Kisaragi and the next I'm here." I grumbled.

"Sounds like our pops would get along. Mine would probably drop me from a cliff he knew I'd stolen some of his smokes. " he dead panned. My green eyes dilated as my initial reaction was to take laugh at the sarcasm. He could also be deadly serious. The look on his face said he was serious. What kind of lives did frogs lead? Why were they talking...

"Eh? You're pretty big though. I'd imagine he'd have a hard time carrying you." Frog-man was looking at me wide eyed now. Shit. I just called him fat didn't I? There was a really awkward moment of silence before he broke out in laughter. Not the chuckling kind of laughter, but straight up booming laughter.

"Thanks for the compliment, lady. Not every day some one doesn't call me short." I smiled my eyes still blank. I had no freaking idea what he was talking about.

"Short?" I asked almost robotically.

"Yeah, Pops is probably fifteen times my height." he was rather nonchalant about it. My heart stopped as my head did the math. My eyes turned up towards the sky as I visualized a frog... fifteen times..taller.

Where the eff had I landed myself?

* * *

><p>After having another internal melt down we got around to pleasantries. Gamakichi was his name. He had one brother, Gamatatsu. Then there was his 'pops' ,Gamabunta. There was no mention of a mother so I left it alone. Not to mention I had enough names to deal with. If they had been different that would have been way easier to remember. No, I gets stuck with three Gama-somethings. Uhg. I'd need to get creative with nick names.<p>

As for my location... Some place called Mount Myoboku. Apparently this is were all the fro..toads lived. He went on to name some of them, but he lost me after the fifth Gama-insert ending here. Perhaps I was just being rude. For the most part Gamakichi didn't seem that bad. He was a sarcastic prat, but that made him more endearing to be completely honest. Now, I just need to figure out why the scroll dropped me here of all places.

"Alright, don't tell anyone about the smokes. Go it?" he said looking around nervously as he smothered the thing in the dirt. I restrained the urge to giggle as he swiftly buried it.

"Yeah, yeah. You really think I'd nark on you?" I elbowed him slightly. Big surprise. He didn't move. I sighed and let out a long humming noise. "That smell, though. How are you going to explain that?"

His eyes about popped out of his skull. Lifting his arms he waved them around trying to catch a wiff of what ever I was smelling. I was only teasing. There really wasn't a smell to him. A bit of the smoke lingered in the air, but that would most likely be gone by the time we got to where ever it was we were going.

"Just kidding Gama-baka." I said smiling.

"Why am I helping you again?" he asked in an irritated voice. My grin widened. He was pretending to be mad at me, but I saw his amusement. Good, let me get on his good side. That way he wouldn't try to eat me he'd think twice. Emotional attachment and what not.

"Cause I called you tall remember?" my tone was matter of fact. He shook his head and hopped ahead of me.

I win!

Kaa-chan would be proud knowing I was making new friends. Giant toads to be exact. I wonder how she'd react to that. If she'd been in my place she probably would have tried to kill Gamakichi with out even asking questions. Act first as questions later. That was the kind of person Kaa-chan was... is...

I hesitated in following the orange toad towards the weird yellow hut thing down the hill. A sudden pressure welled up behind my eyes. I would not think about this right now. I would NOT think about this right now. A mantra I repeated over and over again as I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes. There would be a time to grieve, and now was not that time.

Inhale. Take another breath.

A grin slowly crept back onto my face and I jogged to catch up with Gamakichi. I don't understand why he couldn't just point me the direction of the best way out of this place. Something about seeing some of his elders or something. I wondered what all of this had to do with finding my father. Probably nothings. For all I know this was some ploy to serve me up for dinner.

* * *

><p>Something yummy hit my nose and my stomach gurgled quietly. Whom ever was in that weird hut thing was cooking. Maybe me becoming dinner wasn't to far off the mark. Idly I ran my right hand over the pouch of shuriken on my hip. Next to it there was a slightly fuller pouch with kunai. Mentally I smacked myself for leaving my explosive seals in my room. I'd spent a pretty penny on those. Spirits willing I got out of this place I'd have to buy more.<p>

"No need for that, girl." came a voice from my right. "We're all friends here."

Instinct caused my grip on the kunai to tightened, but I didn't pull it from the pouch. Gamakichi finally took notice of my quietness. Up until this point we'd been talking about nonsense. I'm honestly shocked he didn't take notice of my silence earlier. Switching my gaze from the orange toad I found myself looking at a much small one. Despite the size difference this particular one seemed to be Gamakichi's elder.

We stared at each other for a good few minutes. Me trying to figure out whether or not I was going to be eaten, and he was probably just assessing me. I wasn't sure what these toads were capable of. I knew very well I could put up a pretty damn good fight if need be. They had the home advantage. No telling how many of them there were hiding about.

"You say friend. Why do I have a feeling I could potentially be lunch?" I asked in a friendly enough tone. The old toad and Gamakichi exchanged a look before laughing. Leaving me standing there feeling like an idiot.

"You thought.. we were going to eat you?" Gamakichi asked trying to hold back his laughter. The tips of my ears got hot and I imagined my face turning bright red.

"Oi! Gama-baka, it isn't that funny!" I fumed. At this point his laughter became uncontrollable. He fell back on his back with two fins on his stomach. Hardy har har. Lets make fun of the human whose never seen a giant toad before. How was I supposed to know what they ate.

Old man winter stopped laughing before jerk face Gamakichi. We both waited a few more moments for the orange toad to compose himself. At this point I was ready to smash my face into a near by wall. When he was finished with his laughing fit he righted himself and wiped a few tears from his eyes. With a hearty _slap _he hit me on the back with a fin/foot/hand.

"Wow, I haven't laughed like that since hearing Naruto try and sing for the first time." he took another deep breath before clearing his throat. "Gramps this is Midori. Midori this is Gramps."

"Nice to meet you." I inclined my head at the older toad. He nodded back before hopping towards the hut.

"Nice to meet you as well. How did you come to find us Midori-san?" he was being polite, and that didn't fit my style well. Not that his disposition rubbed me the wrong way. I just did not do polite. My manners needed some work.

"Scroll of doom as I'm not starting to call it." I said holding the thing up. A head cocked to the side, and he didn't even have to ask. I tossed the stupid scroll his direction. With quiet curiosity he examined it.

"Where did you get this, girl?" he asked gently. I shrugged my shoulders. He obviously found this scroll to hold some importance. Good. He could keep it. I could honestly careless if I saw it again.

"A gift from my father. If you could call him that." bitterness crept into my voice. Yup, not letting the whole falling from the sky thing go for a long time.

"Your father!" he exclaimed. I recoiled a bit at his surprise. Shit maybe I would get some answers here. Not sure if that is a bad sign or a good one.

"Well... He didn't give it to me directly. Kaa-chan said it would help me find him. All I did was open it and _poof_ I'm suddenly a bird." I moved my hands at the poof to add a bit of drama to my story. "Not sure how this place is supposed to help me. No offense that is. Unless my father is a toad himself."

"You couldn't be further from the truth, girl." he stated in a way that didn't bode very well. I had a feeling I was about to get some truth that I didn't want to hear. "We know your father quite well."

"Oh dear god. He is a toad." I squeaked. I fell back on my rear and put a hand on my forehead. "My father is a toad. A TOAD. Does this mean I'm going to get warts? No! My face is to pretty for that!"

"Hey you say that as if it were a bad thing!" Gamakichi snapped.

"That's because you're a toad!" I whined on the verge of hyperventilating. Suddenly something hard hit the side of my head. Gramps had decided my fit of hysteria needed to end. Oddly enough I appreciated the slap. My head cleared right up.

Having a father that was a toad was stupid.

I was being an idiot.

* * *

><p>After composing myself I followed Fukasaku, as Gramps told me his real name, and Gama-baka into the little hut. No sooner did we walk in did something get thrown. Gramps merely tilted his head to the side to dodge a spoon aimed at his skull. My eye twitched as the thing embedded into the wall. Gama-baka tensed a bit, and I resisted the urge to duck behind something.<p>

"You're late!" a voice screamed from another room. Another, big surprise here, toad came out of what I assumed was a kitchen. In her hand was another giant spoon. All of the hairs on the back of my neck began to rise at the sight of a potentially dangerous weapon.

"Calm down, Ma. We have company." Fukasaku said almost impatiently. Ma's eye drifted over my direction. Again I froze. Gama-baka cleared his throat and shoved me forward. Time to turn on the charm.

"You're not going to hit me are you?"

….

Nailed it.

Ma grinned at me and waved the spoon in a non threatening way. Her eyes covered the entirety of my body, and for some odd reason she start to get very excited. She started hopping around me. I guess to get a better look. She may or may not have man handled me for a second, but that is twenty times better then having a metal cooking utensil embedded in my skull.

"She looks just like him!" came her approving voice. "Why didn't he tell us about you before?"

Behind me the guys got a little uncomfortable. I heard Gamakichi shift slightly and Gramps cleared his throat. For some reason I didn't find myself offended. There was no way for her to know what was happening. Instead I found a humorless grin crawling onto my lips.

"Well, I've been waiting for an answer to that particular question for sixteen years. I was hoping you guys could actually help me with that."

Adults have this weird way of having conversations with their eyes. I got this overwhelming feeling that they were trying to hide something from me. There was information being passed via eyeballs as I stood there feeling really out of place. Finally Gramps let out a grunt.

"Why don't we all sit down. This is going to take a while." Ma nodded in agreement before disappearing into the kitchen.

Dammit

Maybe this scroll wasn't so stupid after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N:_**Been way to long since I've updated this story. I'm SO sorry. Should be back to regular updates now~! Thank you for being patience!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Like they all say, found a rock to just crawl under and hide<strong>_  
><em><strong>And never think about the moon or sun that roll in the sky<strong>_  
><em><strong>Why was I born, why did I even have to endure?<strong>_  
><em><strong>In the end, I'm just sure<strong>_

* * *

><p>Sleep was not something I worried about that night. I don't think I would have been able to if I tried. My brain just wouldn't turn the hell off. Our little 'talk', them doing most of the talking, left me with a lot to think about. Again I'm using the wrong words. Thinking was an act rational human beings did. I was fuming. I was brimming with frustration and a deep seated anger that I hadn't felt since I was a child. There was another feeling buried there, and try as I might all attempts to bury it again and again failed. This feeling was the worst one.<p>

Abandonment.

Feelings freaking suck.

Mostly because feelings were keeping me from getting my beauty rest. Instead I was sitting here on a ridiculously large leaf contemplating life. Uhg, I was like some sob in one of Okaa-chan's romance novels. Minus a hottie and some ridiculous sub plot. Instead I get saddled with doubting the worth of my own being and a humid night. Seriously, why did everyone think it was a good idea for me to be out on this stupid hunt. My father, if the man could be called that, had left me before I was even born. I probably shouldn't resent him so much, but every girl wants a father right?

Just kidding.

I could careless

Had you fooled there for a second didn't I?

My self worth debacle came from a few facts that had been discussed tonight. First off, the toads refused to tell me his name. Not their place. Blah blah. Second bit of information I got was that he was apparently a incredible shinobi. Trained by the toads themselves on something called Sage Mode. Didn't ask about it. Wasn't interested. My own abilities were nothing to scoff at. Pretty sure I could take him in a fight. Having youth on my side and what not. Evidently my dear old dad was some kind of legend. Pa was adimant that I would not best him in a fight. Fat lot of good any of this information did for me. With out a name I still didn't know where to start looking. Aside from the toads telling me he'd show up eventually. Once a month or something.

Details. Details.

Now for the most appalling part.

As far as looks go I was the spitting image of my father. Long white hair, though Ma pointed out mine was far straighter, was apparently a dead give away. The second big thing? Two long red lines that came down from my eyes. A weird birth mark of sorts. I'd always hated those marks since I was a child. If they weren't red I think I might have liked them more. Alas, there they were half way down my cheeks making my complexion rosier then I would have liked. Not to mention the red offset my bright green eyes. Our biggest difference.

The eyes.

My mother's eyes.

Worry not! I was going to change that right now! A brilliant idea formulated in my mind as I ran fingers through the long silky strands of my hair. White and lovely in the moonlight I stared at the ends. Perhaps there was too much joy in my system as I pulled a kunai from my hip. The sound of hair being shredded was exhilarating. A maniacal glee filled me as I watched the long white strands fall down to the ground below. Little wisps that flashed as the moonlight guided their descent. Good bye attribute that reminded people of that stupid man! Those were the words that crossed my mind as I literally waved to the last of my falling hair.

Abandoning my leaf I dropped to the ground. Wind ruffled my now chin length hair making the ends tickle my cheeks. Stepping towards a small puddle of stagnant water I surveyed my reflection. Call me vain, but I had to make sure I still looked presentable. Never know when some cutie will cross my path. Biting my lip I fluffed my bangs just a bit. Not my normal mature profile. I now looked a lot younger. Cuter instead of sexier.

That was a problem in my opinion

I'd have to figure something else out later. As of right now long white hair made me think of my father, and the last thing I wanted to do was think of my father as being sexy. The moment that thought crossed my mind I gagged. In a chain reaction of traumatizing images my brain linked a few things together. First I imagined a male version of myself. Then for some reason the clothes disappeared. Then Okaa-chan showed up in the picture.

GAH!

Sleep.

Definitely need sleep.

* * *

><p>About a week passed before I finally started to settle into life on Mount Myoboku. For the most part no one really said anything about my sudden change in appearance. Aside from Ma who gave me a rather dubious look, but I imagine she'd dealt with teenage rebellion before. After all she had to deal with Gama-baka. That stupid idiot lacked a filter, and in the last week I've had to dodge god knows how many cooking utensils. Ma's wrath of unfathomable when it came to her cooking. He always had something snide to say about it. For the most part I agreed. Toad food was not ideal for a human, but food was food. Worrying about dying via flying spatula just made meals all the more entertaining.<p>

Stupid Gamakichi

He's lucky I like him.

Speaking of, my orange amphibian friend was leading me to god knows where. Today had started out weird enough with him waking me before the sun even reared its head. Promises of adventure had tamed my murderous sleep haze. I appreciated everything the toads had been doing for me, but doing nothing was really starting to get on my nerves. Sitting idle gave me time to think. Thinking led to emotions that I wasn't ready to confront just yet. So Gamakichi's adventure seemed like a good way to pass some time.

What my delightful guide failed to tell me was how much we'd be hiking. Mount Myoboku is gorgeous don't get me wrong. There were leaves that were as big as some houses I'd seen in smaller villages. Since I'd arrived there hadn't been a single day of bad weather. Sure it was humid enough to make your hair frizz, but that was manageable. Scenery got boring after a while, and I found myself wanting to show Okaa-chan this place. She would have loved it. She never see it thought...

Aaaand now I was going down a path I didn't want to go down.

"Hey! Gama-baka! How much further? If you're trying to lure me into a trap to eat me you really didn't have to try so hard." I said in an unamused manner. I had a kunai in hand, and was twirling the end around my finger to try and stave off boredom.

"Keep your panties on. We're almost there. I promise this will be worth it." he called over his shoulder. In the last week we'd spent a lot of time together. Mostly because Ma and Pa are way to old to enjoy our humor. I'd learned quick the old toad's walking stick hurt a lot. If I had ever had any friends in my life they probably would have been a lot like Gamakichi. Able to handle a lot of teasing, and sarcastic as hell.

"Yeah, yeah. Pretty sure you said that about an hour ago. " after pausing for just a moment I gave the most dramatic sigh I could muster. "Seriously though, what in the hell are we doing out in the middle of no where."

He held up a fin and I gave the best 'I'm so not fucking amused' look I could muster. The prat didn't even see it because he was looking out at something. Feeling the need to complain further I opened my mouth and sucked in a breath. Gamakichi looked over his shoulder and held up a fin to his lips to silence me. Oddly enough he looked deadly serious as he hopped towards a bush.

Stupid curiosity.

Unable to stop the nagging need to see what he was looking at I followed. Putting my hands on his shoulders I leaned against him and peered over his shoulder. He grunted as if annoyed when my weight settled on his back. Comically I rested my chin on the top of his head and looked about. He tried briefly to jostle me off, but his efforts didn't have a whole lot of heart behind them.

"You're so ridiculous, you know that? You should feel privileged to even be near us toads." he feigned annoyance.

"Rare chosen few get to visit. Once in a life time.. yeah, yeah. What are you looking for. It better be good." he gave a disgruntled sigh and turned his head to the right. Seeing as I was resting my chin on his head I was forced to look the same direction. Know what I saw?

A big ass snake.

* * *

><p>I was so going to regret this.<p>

That was the thought that passed through my head as I finished the final stroke of orange paint on the purple snake. Gama-baka had gotten the paint from a storage scroll he'd brought with him. Apparently it was my job to pain the slithery creature, who was twice Gamakichi's size, and then 'phase' two would take place. My amphibian friend didn't tell me what that phase entailed, but I was hard up for entertainment. So using the orange paint I basically went to town. I drew little frogs. I also wrote 'I love toads' in random spots. Needless to say the giant snake looked pretty ridiculous.

Each stroke made me hold my breath. I was pretty damn quiet, but figured the feeling of being painted would wake the creature. Snakes apparently slept harder then I thought. At least this one did. He didn't budge the entire time. I was pretty confident I'd get out with out being caught. Then Gamakichi put phase two into motion.

"Hey Aoda!" He called from the tree line. My head whipped around so fast I swear my spine snapped. Gaping I watch that stupid frog send a ball of fire towards us. Squeaking I dodged to the side to avoid being singed. Said fireball landed precariously close to Aoda's head.

That woke him up.

Green snake eyes shot open, and the first thing they saw was the ball of flame. Understandable the snake was rather confused and startled. Hissing it did a weird flail and wiggled away from the fire. Then he saw the bright orange on his scales. His expression turned from confused to irritated. Next to me the bucket rolled, and my stomach clenched as that gaze landed on me.

Regret incomming.

"Uh... I'm going to start running now.."

"You're going to die."

Two seconds later that smushed hog nosed face came flying my direction mouth open and fangs visible. Using a replacement jutsu I made to escape. There was a hiss of anger as Aoda lifted his head and crushed the poor log in his jaws. Pushing chakra into my legs I ran incredibly fast towards Gamakichi. Like an idiot he was waving at me not to come his direction.

"You're supposed to be distracting him! Run the other way. The other way!" he shouted at me. I jumped over his head and landed on a branch on the tree behind him.

"Yeah, and get eaten by a snake. Jeez! I know you're nice, but sharing food? You could at least do me a favor and eat me yourself. Now you're sacrificing me?" I said in fake anger. To be fair I wasn't scared. There was a lot of adrenaline pumping through my veins, but I didn't fear for my life.

This was kind of fun.

"I'm not sacrifi- shit!" he said as a tail went to wrap around him. Using a little to much strength he jump straight up. A low whistle passed through my lips as I followed his shadow.

"Damn, cleared the trees and everything."

"TOAD! I should have known! Only you would have put a human up to this." yelled Aoda. Gamakichi came crashing through the branches to my left. He had a grin on his face.

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about Aoda. Though, I've got to say I never knew you were a fan." he teased. I forgot to mention, written on the snake's forehead was 'I love Gamakichi'. Aoda flung his head into a nearby tree and I was forced to jump a different direction.

"Uh, he's pretty pissed. Maybe we should go." I said landing next to Gamakichi. From the looks of it the snake was a lot like my friend. Which means there were probably more. One explosion and all this noise would probably bring them our way soon.

"Yeah, I have a feeling Manda might show his ugly mug if we don't dip. Last one back has to help Gramps with cleaning the toad statues." he said hopping away.

That jerk took a head start!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I hope you guys enjoy! We get to see a different side of Midori!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. The lyrics are from Lost One's Weeping.

* * *

><p><strong>Can you even say the formula of area now?<br>Can you even scream the dreams you swore would never go out?  
>Who was the one who let my hopes just curl up die?<br>Hey, who could it be?  
>No, it's gotta be...<br>Just open up your eyes, why don't you grow up and see?  
>But what the hell is "growing up" and tell me when will I be?<br>Can a single person out there just explain it to me?**

* * *

><p>Eight months passed before I could even realize what was happening. I had thought that I'd have crumbled by now. My mother's death lurked in my shadow waiting to spring on me like a hungry cat when I let down my guard. There were moments when I could feel the terrible grief filling my chest. All of the emotions swelled against my carefully crafted walls and I could feel cracks forming. The day they fell I would have one hell of a ride.<p>

I held firm.

Gamakichi kept me distracted enough with his constant need to prank. We didn't just bug Aoda, though picking on the snake became quite the past time. Our antics spread to the mountain as well. A lot of it had to do with teasing poor Gamatatsu. The pale yellow frog would eat almost anything we threw in front of him, and sometimes we sabotaged the hell out of the food. This normally landed both of us with rigorous training.

Yup.

Training.

Not long after my first month here Gramps and Ma voluntold me that I would be training if I remained here. I was in pretty good shape. Kaa-chan trained me well, and I wasn't exactly a rookie when it came to fighting. So, despite my rather violent protests, I began learning Senjutstu. For the first few months all I did was a whole lot of physical training. Senjustu was apparently wearing on both the body and chakra.

"Do we even know if I have the chakra reserves for this?" I asked skeptically as I stared at the weird looking fountain. "I could die. I could literally die. Wait- this isn't another ploy to try and eat me is it?"

"Midori-girl, how many times do I have to tell you.." I could hear him forcing the words through grinding teeth. Giving a wide grin I turned to see the old frog glaring at me with his eye twitching.

"Breath Gramps, I'm just teasing. Seriously though, what if I can't handle this." he hopped onto the ledge I was leaning on. He lifted a webbed palm as if to smack me on the back of the head. I got that reaction a lot from both him and Ma.

"Well, I was just assuming you were like your father in that aspect." he lowered his palm and looked at the webbing almost like a girl would check her nails. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I cracked my knuckles. His mouth began to twitch at the corners. He knew how to push my buttons.

"You're wrong." the words came out a little quick. "I'm better. Okaa-chan was better. I'm more like Okaa-chan. So I guess you're right. If he can do it then I'll do it twenty times better."

"Good! Now then, we are going to use the oil to help you out to start with." he reminded me. On our walk up here he'd briefly explained what Senjutsu was. "yes, put some one you're hand. Come on now! It's not going to hurt you. Make sure you rub it into the skin. That's how you can tap into the natural energy. Eventually you should be able to tap into it with out the oil."

My hand hovered over the oil and I gave him one finally dramatic look before dipping two of my fingers in the oil. Immediately I felt a this weird rush jolt through my system. I felt like a fire cracker with a newly ignited fuse. Not an unpleasant feeling at all. I felt like I was on the best adrenaline rush of my life. Then something weird happened, and I swear the old man set me up.

"Oh, and if you don't focus it properly... You turn into a frog."

Bull shit

I didn't sign up for this.

Sure enough my hand had this weird webbing on it. I could see little wart like bumps forming on my perfect skin. Looking past my hand I caught sight of my reflection. My face looked a bit rounder. There was a deep red around both of my eyes, and my nose looked swollen. Trembling I used my one normal hand to poke at my bloated cheeks.

I looked awful...

_SMACK_

Solid wood connected with the back of me head. A pain so sharp my ears rang pulsed from the back of my head down my spine. Here it was. The inevitable betrayal I'd been fearing. Letting out a high pitch whine I cradled the back of my skull. I have no idea what he hit me with, but holy hell did it hurt.

"To keep that from happening I have this." he twirled a wooden baton in his hand. "One good whack and you're good as new!"

"Yeah, sure.. Good as new.." I grumbled rubbing fiercely at the aching spot. "Minus the concussion."

"Again!"

Gods what had I gotten myself into.

* * *

><p>This continued for ten months before I saw results. By result I mean I was able to hit this sage mode and hold it for a good six minutes. That's no laughing matter! That makes me basically a bad ass. I think. I hope.<p>

"Ne, Gama-baka why don't we lay off today." I said glaring at the pointed rocks that we we came to balance on. I absolutely hated this part of the training. Sitting still was a whole lot harder then I cared to admit. Gramps had originally said something about animals (humans included) having a particular instinct that told them to move. Sitting still apparently resulted in getting eaten. From my experience simply existing could result in being eaten. Hell, between Manda and Aoda I'd almost been swallowed four times.

"Nope, gotta stay.. fit and stuff." he said in a distracted manner. Quirking an eyebrow I leaned towards him. He was looking back towards the house with an almost disappointed look. With my right hand I snapped in front of his eyes.

"You sure? I mean as much as I'm love to help Ma and Gramps with cleaning or whatever it is they're doing." he blinked at me twice. "Seriously, they told us to get the hell out. Why would you want to go back? Maybe we can go bother Aoda or something. Gramps would never know right?"

"Dori.." he finally leveled me with a some what serious look. "Up."

"Fiiiiine! Gah, you're no fun." I groaned putting chakra into my feet. Popping my neck I started walking up the side of the spire. In my hand was a rather dingy flat piece of wood. I was so excited to start meditating so I could fall a million times.

Gama-baka made a grunting noise that told me he still wasn't really paying attention. I had the urge to throw the wood piece at him, but in the end that would only gain me entertainment for a few minutes. When that toad got something in his mind there really was no distracting him.

"Are you not coming up?" I shouted down to him. He glanced up for a second with a rather pointed look. Sticking my bottom lip out I pouted. With practiced ease I balanced the board on the peak of the jagged rock. Looks like Gama-baka wasn't going to help me with the whole boredom thing.

Fine.. I'll meditate by myself.

* * *

><p>After battling my mind for almost two hours I finally opened my eyes. Guess what I saw. Just take a guess. Had my friend joined me in channeling nature's energy? Nope. Was he waiting patiently for me to finish? Nope. Was he battling an angry purple snake? Nope. He wasn't even there. That jerk had left me ALONE.<p>

Surprise surprise the theme of the day continued to be irritation. Months of training and you'd think I could get a day off or something. Today I'd been chased out of the house for 'cleaning' purposes, forced to meditate with the chance of falling to my death, and now abandoned. Unfair as hell in my opinion.

_CRACK_

The wood splintered and all but exploded in my hand as I tightened my fist around it. There was still a lot of natural chakra running through me and I hadn't realized how hard I'd been clutching the wood. Taking a deep breath I shook my had and let the energy disperse. I wasn't supposed to use the chakra with out some one watching over me. I would _hate_ to break another rule.

Popping my neck I pumped some good ole fashion normal chakra into my legs and ran back to the hut. During my quick little sprint I passed Gamabunta. He called after me, but I didn't really hear what he said. I was to focused on finding his offspring. Gamakichi was going to die for leaving me all by myself. He was supposed to be my best friend. That clearly meant he had to suffer with me. Since he decided to skip out on two hours worth of suffering I had to make that up right?

Swinging the door open with an audible bang I marched into the house. From the kitchen I heard several voices. None of them were Gamakichi's. I clearly heard Gramps and Ma, but the third voice wasn't one I remembered. Maybe a toad I hadn't met yet. Maybe I could recruit them in my torture scheme.

"Gamakichi! I told you to stay with Midori!" Gramps called from the kitchen. Well, at least I knew the stupid head had been here.

"It's me, old man." I called walking towards the kitchen. "I'm looking for that nit wit. How long ago..."

"Midori stay out there!"

To late

I turned the corner and found myself staring at the first human I'd seen in almost a year. In my chest I felt my heart stall out. Both toads were talking to me in soft tones. I think they were trying to keep me calm. Shock registered in his dark eyes. I imagine his face mirrored my own in more then one way.

At least I know where I get those stupid red marks from now.

I can't do this.

I'm not ready for this.

Those two sentences repeated over and over in my head. We sat there and stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. All I could hear was blood pounding in my ears. He shifted and in the dim light of the hut I became painfully aware how much I truly looked like him. His movement caused an weird feeling to flood my system.

In two seconds I had a smoke pellet out of one of my pouches and cracked it on the floor. Thick grey smoke filled the room and caused everyone to start coughing. Ma yelled my name her voice pitched with worry and a bit of aggravation. She could scold me later. Right now I needed to put as much distance between myself and this place as possible.

I made it about three yards before a rather strong hand caught my wrist. How did he get there so fast? A panicked whine came from my mouth. This was not how I wanted things to happen. I'd always imagined that if I ever met my father I'd beat his ass and then walk away. Why was I so scared?

Twisting around I did the only thing I could really think of. I punched him squarely in the nose. I don't think he was expecting it. Even still his hand maintained a firm grip my wrist. He probably had no intention of harming me, but I couldn't help but thrash around.

"Hey! Knock it off!"

"Let me go!"

He caught my fist as I came around for the second punch. His hands slid over my wrists and held firmly to my biceps. Pain seized my chest and my heart rate skyrocketed. My entire body began to shake uncontrollably. Breathing became rather difficult as I felt some one had completely deflated my lungs. I started to hyperventilate.

"Never had a woman react this strongly to me." he said with a grin. His joke did not calm my nerves. My breathing continued to speed up, and occasionally a high pitched hiccup pop in. I felt the world around me start to tilt.

"Let her go, Jiraiya boy!" Gramps called from behind us.

"You sure about that?" he asked rather confused. I weakly kicked at his shins. He sighed and released my arms. I fully planned on running. My body on the other hand had other ideas. Unable to normalize my breathing I dropped to my knees.

"What's wrong with her?" I heard his voice ask as the old toad settled next to me. A fin patted my back, and suddenly I was worried more about breathing then my father. Black spots were starting to dance across my vision. Tears were flowing freely down my cheeks. Clutching my chest I tried my best to calm my racing heart.

"Breath, Midori-girl. Slowly." Gramps continued calmly.

"She's going to pass out." Daddy-dearest said kneeling down so we were eye level. Spirits I hated him. First, he abandoned me and now... Now..

I passed the hell out.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: **_For some reason this was really really hard to write. I'm trying to stay true to Midori's personality, and I hate to say it but she's not exactly the most rational of people. So there is a little drama in this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Crave a home I've never had<br>Though I guess it ain't too bad  
>"Let's just leave and go back home"<br>Take my hand and fly away**

* * *

><p>When I woke up the sky was dark and I found myself alone. That was probably for the better. Behind my eyes an ache kicked up. The dim moonlight that peeked through the hut's windows made me cringe. Hopefully that light sensitivity would go away. I really didn't want to deal with this head ache. Breathing made my throat itch, and mentally I made a note never to freak out like that again.<p>

I felt like shit

I'm sure I looked it too.

Out of irritation I sighed, and immediately regretted the action. The raw burn amplified and I found myself grabbing my neck. Every muscle in my poor body ached. Under me the bed seemed to be keeping me anchored. The lure of curling up and sleeping for another three days was so strong. I had to get out of this bed.

I had to get out of Mount Myoboku.

The contract I made with Kaa-chan had been fulfilled. Not only had I found the bastard, but I had made a fool of myself. Part of me wanted to go back and see if she was alive. That was a laugh. Kaa-chan was fading pretty quick when she had sent me off. The thought of her being gone made my already sore stomach flutter.

I wonder if they even gave her a proper burial.

In the quiet I heard the quiet patter of water hitting the blanket. With the heel of my hand I scrubbed the tears away. Panic made my heart flutter. All the grief I'd been fighting was so close to bubbling over. Sliding my palms up to my eyes I pressed them against my eyes. No emotions. Push them back. Emotions will not help me with this.

Digging inside of myself I managed to summon my resolve. Hands lifted and the waterworks had ceased. Mimicking my Kaa-chan I ran my hands through my knotted hair. Nail dragged along my scalp. Breathing in nice and deep I leaned forward letting my emotions fade. Opening my eyes I glared at the door. Like always life was transitioning. My time here was done, and that sucked

I almost felt like this place was my home, but I knew better. The toads had become a family I'd never had. But I knew better. Had I expected to stay here forever? No. Just a little bit longer would have been nice. Moving on would mean being alone. I had never been alone before. We might not have had a home to call our own, but we had always had each other.

Guess it was time to grow up.

Half an hour later I had all of my belongings packed. I was sitting on the bed wrapping my thigh with protective bandages when the door opened. I didn't need to look up to know that my closest friend was standing there staring at me. Grabbing a shuriken holder from off the bed I placed it over the bandages. Smoke hit my nose causing my face to tense. He smelled like he'd gone through two packs in the last hour.

"Dori...I'm-" he started and I sighed. Holding up a hand I stopped him mid sentence.

"Not your fault Gama-baka." turning my green eyes his direction I saw him pull another cig. Surprising seeing as Gramps was probably going to kill him for stinking up the hut. There was worry in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. "You know you shouldn't do that in here. The old man is going to eat you alive."

"They're not here right now. They went with Jiraiya to see the old geezer." fists clenched at the name. Gamakichi took a long drag. "You know, he's not that bad. You might actually like him if you give him a chance."

"Yeah, sure. Then we'd just be the best of pals." bending over I checked the ties on my sandals. "I've gone this long with out him, and I have no problem going longer. I did this for her. Don't expect me to fall over myself to get his attention."

Clenching my hands into fists I turned my back to the toad. Minutes of silence passed as we both just stood there. He was probably frustrated with me. Rolling my shoulders I popped my neck and went to the window. This would be easier if I didn't like them so much. So stupid. Why did I let myself care about them. Severing ties was going to hurt like hell.

"What the hell!" something solid smacked me in the back of the head.

"Didn't know what else to do. I don't handle this whole sad stuff well." he said casually. "And you were being really angsty, so yeah."

"So you threw your sandal at me?" I spun around rubbing the back of my head.

"Seemed appropriate. To much?" Part of me wanted to tackle him and beat him up. That would normally land us with extra chores, but I couldn't. If I caved to the yearning I'd never leave.

"We're both really bad at this aren't we?" I offered up with an airy laugh. In the back of my throat my voice cracked. From the way I was acting you'd think one of us was about to die. Even though there was no looming threat making me leave I felt the pull.

"Yeah, yeah. You're just lucky I caught you before you left." he looked off to the side. "I would have been pissed if you had left with out saying good bye."

"I don't do well with good byes I was hoping..."

"To avoid it?"

"Yeah"

"You're an idiot you know that right?" A shrug of my shoulders and he shook his head. The tension between us eased ever so slightly. He kept dragging at the cig, and that let me know he was still a bit stressed. "Just make sure you visit. Ma will upset you know."

"Uh huh." I rolled my eyes at that. He and I both knew he was going to miss my ass.

"See you soon."

"See you soon, Gama-baka"

* * *

><p>Every sense I had was on overdrive as I ran through the night. I knew he was out here somewhere and I was not going to be caught off guard this time. When I made finally found a road I sensed him. The moment I exited the tree line he was there waiting. Arms across his chest he gave me a rather bored look. Scowling I all but stomped past him like a three year old.<p>

"Its about time, kid. Thought I was going to grow old waiting on you" he said amiably. He wore a little smirk that made me want to claw his eyes out. Why was he being so informal?

"I'm not a kid." the first words I could think of. "No one held a kunai to your neck and made you wait on me. I don't even know why you waited. I'm sure you have better things to do."

His sunny attitude didn't disappear. He didn't disappear. Instead he strolled right along behind me. Reaching in his pack he pulled out a little pencil and book. We walked a few miles in silence. For the most part he didn't' seem to be bothered by my presence. I on the other hand was fuming. Him following me made absolutely no sense. Eventually I turned on him.

"Can I help you?" there it was. Every bit of hate and disgust balled up into four simple words. I was hoping it would deter him. Scare him off. Something!

"Hmm? Sorry, forgot you were there." he said nonchalantly. My mouth about hit the floor. Fingers twitched with the overwhelming urge to strangle him.

"Right, so nothing different from the last sixteen years?" I snapped.

"Hard to forget something I never knew about." he kept that laid back facade on like none of my words affected him. Grind my teeth I just stared at him long and hard. There was so much i wanted to say, but the ability to actually say the words properly alluded me. "In fact I don't think I even know your name. Let me guess, she named you after me! Something like Takara or Sachi"

"How do either of those names have anything to do with you." why did I ask. Why was I indulging him?

"Well you know. Like I left her a treasure or some kind of blessing" he said with mock pride. The corner of my eye twitched.

"No."

"No?"

"She named you, No. Well, that's… different." could he get any more annoying?!

"N..spirits… Midori! My name is Midori!" not really thinking I had a kunaii in hand and launched the deadly piece of metal at his head. Wearing that stupid grin he ducked to the side. Behind him there was an audible thunk.

"Wow, not too shabby there Midoki." my mouth almost unhinged. "Its _almost _like you really wanted to hit me."

"Because I did!" the shriek erupted from my core. Throwing my hands up int the air I groaned. "Spirits, is there any particular reason you're following me?"

This guy

THIS

FUCKING

GUY

"Well, seeing as the closest village is that direction." He pointed behind me. "Following wouldn't be the word I would use. I've got research to do."

I won't ask

Not going to ask

Nope.

"What ever, just leave me alone."

* * *

><p>Every step that brought me closer to Tohaku Village started to add more and more weight to my shoulders. I'd only been away from the toads a few hours, and I already felt like it had been a life time. Being alone was most definitely not sitting well with me. I couldn't stop thinking about it. There were these little urges to look to my right where Gamakichi would have been and start up a conversation.<p>

Gamakichi wasn't here.

Okaa-chan wasn't here.

"Anyone there?" the voice disrupted my thoughts and I blinked a few times before I realized who was talking to me. Irritation suited me far more then loneliness. Narrowing my eyes I pushed his hand rather forcefully away.

"You're still here?" he reversed my grip and held my wrist lightly. He had a rather bemused look on his face.

"Where else would I be?" preferably the other side of the country. Maybe at the bottom of the ocean?

"Didn't you say you needed to do research or something? Pretty sure this is where you and I part ways, _Dad_." sugar sweetness to keep from ripping out his throat.

"So impatient. Don't you think we should at least try and get along." he asked. His tone didn't sound very serious, but his eyes narrowed just a tiny bit. Not in that annoyed way. No, he wore the same look Okaa-chan gave me when I was about to try something stupid. A look that said he cared. A look that really messed with me.

"And what would you suggest? Take me with you for 'research'?" I jerked my hand back and made air quotations. "What ever that means."

"Come on, Madoka." he was teasing, but holy hell did that irritate me. We were not that close. He did not have the right. "Don't you think we should at least try. Besides, the ladies love guy that's good with kids."

Something in my brain twisted. There was a sharp pain in my chest and then every bit of emotion I'd been feeling up until this point disappeared. All but one. Loneliness, irritation, and rage all just vanished. A void opened up inside of me. Limply my hand dropped to my side. Tilting my head down just slightly I took a step back to give myself room to breath. His presence was suffocating.

"Is this just a game for you?" I was shocked at how quiet my voice was.

"Kid..."

"Midori. I'm not a kid." he stood there awkwardly like he didn't know what to say. "Look if I haven't made it clear, I'm not interested in mending what ever... what ever you think we are. I get that you and the toads are close and if they put you up to this then please, stop. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go punch something or some one."

Or get a drink.

Tohaku was a decently sized village. If I couldn't find somewhere to fight I would find a place to drink. Anything to numb the emotional pain I was experiencing right now. He opened his mouth to say something, but I stepped back. With a snap of my wrist I popped a smoke pellet on the ground and disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: **_I really don't have any excuses as to why it took so long to update this story. Hope you guys can forgive me, and thank you to those that have been reading

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Naruto. The song lyrics are _Hope of Morning_ by Icon For Hire.

* * *

><p><em><strong>My mind's a kaleidoscope, it thinks too fast<strong>_

_**Blurs all the colors 'til I can't see past**_

_**The last mistake, the choice I made**_

_**Staring in the mirror with myself to blame**_

_**Sometimes I'm afraid of the thoughts inside**_

_**Nowhere to hide inside my mind**_

_**I'm scared that you'll compare and I'll look a lifetime past repair**_

_**I second guess myself to death, I re-solicit every step**_

* * *

><p>Walking was mildly difficult after I left the dusty bar I'd been in all night. Getting drinks had been hard at first. Short hair apparently knocked a few years off my image. Having a pretty face had perks though. Oh, and of course I didn't forget to flaunt my better assets. Guys could be so easy. Well, guys that were deep in their cups were easy to manipulate.<p>

Oh and the free drinks...

All the free drinks!

A pleasant buzz filled my head, and a kunai flipped between my fingers. Boisterous voices surrounded me. Some random ninja had thrown his arm around my shoulders. What they were saying was entirely irrelevant. There were only two things I cared about at this moment. One, keeping up the beautiful cloudiness that not only filled my head, but weighed my body down. Two, getting to this fighting ring that was being held just outside of the village.

I was no stranger to these type of fights. You could find them everywhere if you looked hard enough. Normally you'll find rogue nin and wannabees hanging in these kind of rings. I'm not quite sure where I fell into the mix. I wasn't a rogue, and I definitely wasn't some kind of wannabe. Guess I'm a class of my own!

HA!

I crack myself up!

That arm slipped off my shoulder. Pressure settled on my back as a far too brave hand made a journey along my spine towards my rear. Tilting my head to the side I gave him a lazy glare. He didn't make eye contact, but there was an up turn to the corner of his mouth. I stopped flicking the kunai between my fingers. Sighing heavily was all the warning he got. Still the hand continued to move. Knuckles turning white I applied a death grip on the kunai and shoved it towards his throat.

"Whoah! Looks like we got ourselves a fire cracker boys!" someone called from my right. Those ahead of us let loose excited seemed to fill the air. That or the sake was really getting to me.

"Get her in the ring!" another shout. Handsy, as he will now be called, took a measured step back. His offending limb lifted off my body and joined it's match in a defensive posture. I ignored the excited calls around us. At the corners of my mouth I felt tension as my lips curved into an innocent smile

"You know, I could use a hand in the ring, or a foot. Maybe just a finger. You willing to donate?" every word was sticky sweet. Blood lust stated to curl in my stomach, and I saw his eyes lose the slight glaze that had covered them.

Yeah, big boy.

Don't mess with me.

Flipping open the little latch on my kunai holder I deposited the sharp object back in place on my outer thigh. With liquid courage surged through my system and I skipped forward a few steps. Not to far ahead I saw the 'ring' that they had been talking about. On top of my knuckles the skin started to itch. No wrapping covered the bare skin. Tonight they would probably bleed. Thankfully the alcohol in my system would dull that sting.

Right now I just wanted to fight.

Round after round flew by. Most of what I can remember is a mess of colors and the smell of sweat. I beat ass and I got my ass beat. All of it was in good fun. A ring to the head took me out though. A sharp jab to my nose that put me out for the night. Having no where to go and no money I wandered into a nearby field.

Blurry silver streaks made the long grass of said field look like moving water. Do you know how trippy that is? I was able to walk about three feet before I thought I tripped on a shark or something. You can't fool me. Land sharks definitely exist. This particular one made me fall face first. Bastard. Mouth full of grass I rolled over on my back and stared at the dark sky. Floating above me was a half moon.

It was so beautiful.

And lonely…

Hey! I was lonely too! A giggle erupted from my mouth. How absurd that I had something in common with the moon. Oh! My hair was almost the same color! We had that too! Look at me making a friend. Raising my hand I pointed a finger and traced the outline of the glowing thing. Kaa-chan preferred the sun. She was weird like that. We were ninja. Darkness was better, and the light of the moon definitely did less damage to the skin. Kaa-chan didn't take enough care of herself…

"Kaa-chan.." I closed my hand into a fist and let it fall down next to my side. Pressure built behind my eyes. For the first time in a really long time I was by myself. No toad was near by to potentially see my mental breakdown. There were no other people to pretend for. Just me and the moon.

Hot tears touched the corners of my eyes. They ran down the side of my face into my hair just above my ears. Sniffling I threw my other arm over my eyes. I pushed as much of the silvery light away as possible. I couldn't let the moon see me cry. Can't cry in front of the moon. That would be embarrassing. Maybe if I stayed quiet. I could cry, but not in the sobbing hysterical kind of way. Yeah. Not a bad idea. Quiet crying was better than being obnoxious.

Something settled next me. Even in my intoxicated state I could feel the grass shift ever so slightly. Tightly wound chakra barely touched my senses. I didn't have to look to know who it was. His arrogant presence was enough to clue me in on his identity. All the grief that was ready to spill over stilled. In my throat there was a lump that made me stop breathing for a moment. Grinding my teeth together I found myself letting the trembling breath hiss between them.

* * *

><p>"Well you definitely didn't get my tolerance." he said as if it was an after shifted and I heard him rustle through his bag. After a moment the sound of scratching cut through the buzzing in my ears. Was he writing?<p>

"I dunno whhy yer eveen heeere." my words were far more slurred than I cared for. Scrunching my forehead and pushing my arm even tighter against my eyes I tried to focus. "Whatdoyouwant I'mtryingtotalktothemoon."

"Not sure I understood any of that." he said with a chuckle. I had something witty on the tip of my tongue, but the damn thing suddenly felt like lead in my mouth. A weird silence passed between the two of us before he spoke again. "I don't know if you're just stupid.. no you're pretty stupid. Fighting like that after drinking so much was not a bright idea."

Hold the fuck on a second.

"Duun't you tink is a bit late fer Fadderly advice?" there's the slur again. Grabbing a handful of grass and dirt I sat up and threw it at him. I managed to get most of it in his hair. Smugly I looked at the dirtied white locks. He glanced up from his book and I saw amusement in his eyes. He held up his hand and counted down from three.

I was very confused.

Then my body reminded me of what happened when I moved to fast with loads of alcohol in my system. Butterflies in my stomach turned into a twisting whirling storm. I covered my mouth as my throat constricted. Turning away from him I proceed to dump what ever was in my stomach on the silvery grass. He shifted to put his book away. I didn't care much what he was doing. My stomach was in knots. My throat was sore and itchy. My eyes watered from the force of what happened, and my tongue was no longer lead. Instead the muscle felt like it had swollen and filled my mouth.

"Can't say I didn't see that coming." He gave me a firm pat on the back. Sluggishly I pushed at the hand. Like the bastards they were my muscles decided to not work.

"Gooo away." I rubbed the corner of my mouth wishing for another drink.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm the worst. You hate me. I get it kid. I get it." he said standing up. "Can't say I want the toads coming after me though. Shima… Ma has pretty good aim when it comes to kitchen utensils, and I'd prefer not getting a ladle to the head because I left you passed out in a field."

"What's wiiith her and those tiings anway?" I asked momentarily distracted by the memory of dodging said utensils. With a firm grip he grabbed my bicep and tried to haul me to my feet. Whining I let my body go limp. Rolling his eyes he sighed. "Whatta you doin"

"Well, the plan was to get you up and moving." he tried pulling me up again and I shook my head violently from side to side. "Don't you think it might be more comfortable to fall asleep in, oh I don't know, a bed? You're going to have one hell of a hangover when you wake up. Why don't we go back to the village."

"I don't wanna!" My inner five year old was coming out. I really wasn't trying to be difficult. Okay maybe I was a little bit, but every time I moved the world started to tilt. "Is too far, and I'm dizzy. The grass is comfy. I'll be okay."

"Not happening, kid. We're going back. You can at least try." He pulled again, and I just stared at him blankly. Why in the world was he so determined to get me back. Was he actually worried about me. HA! That was laughable. He probably made some deal with the toads or something.

"Carry me!"

* * *

><p>Oddly enough he didn't object to my grabby hands when I asked to be carried. He simply shook his head and some how got me onto his back. Getting my legs over that stupid scroll on his back took a few moments, but eventually I was securely on his back. Both of his arms were latched securely around and under my legs. My own arms hang limply over his shoulders. As I leaned my head against his back, on top of his outrageously thick white hair, I almost found myself being lulled to sleep by the sound of his sandals clicking softly on the ground.<p>

Almost

"If you tell anyone about this Iwillmaimyou." I muttered. Fatigue was making me a bit delirious.

"I won't tell anyone. I wouldn't dream of embarrassing you. At Least not behind your back. I'll make sure you're there when I tell all your friends." he was teasing me again. I waved one of my hands in an attempt to slap him but never connected.

"Stupid, bastard. I don't have friends. Only had Kaa-chan. Friends are stupid. You're stupid." he shifted me slightly as his grip on my left leg started to slip.

"Seemed like you were making plenty of friends tonight." he said. In his voice there was a bit of irritation. Not sure why what I did tonight would irritate him. If I recall I had lots to drink, kissed a few boys, and then did the fighting thing.

Wait a second

That means he'd been watching me.

"Peeervert! Pervy peeerv perv! You were staaalking me weren't you!" I pushed my head into his shoulder and flailed a bit. "I'll haaave you know they weren't friends. Just a distraction. Don't like thinking. Thinking is bad. Gama-baka kept me from thinking. Training… Getting chased by snakes. No time to think. Aooooda likes to try and nom my legs."

"Stop moving! Sheesh, the last thing I want is to hear is you whining when I drop you." he stopped and popped me higher on his back. I grunted as my stomach churned. Pausing he adjust my legs again to keep me from falling.

"Kid, I wasn't stalking you. Being the Master Pervert that I am my standards are far higher. You are definitely not the type of girl I would write into one of my books. You're still a kid." his voice lost a bit of its edge. Without much warning he changed subjects completely. I didn't really catch onto it though. "Besides, what's wrong with thinking?"

"Lots. Can't think 'bout Kaa-chan. To sad. Almost lost to the sad tonight. I miss Kaa-chan." I didn't fight the tears this time. I just let them fall. He couldn't see me back here. "No friends. No Kaa-chan. Just me. Me and the me weak."

"It doesn't have to be that way, kid. It's a bad idea to try and keep it to yourself. You'll self destruct. It's okay to ask for help. You don't have to do this on your own." if I had the energy I'd probably laugh.

"Is dis where you say you'll help? You didn't stick around before. Why would you stay dis time?" If I was even a little sober I never would have said something like that. "I'm.. I'm not likeable. LIke.. I hate you. See, not likable. Can't like you. You just leave. Leave me again."

"I'd say let my at least try, but I have a feeling you won't let me get off that easy.. Not to mention you'll probably forget this come the morning." he said chuckling. He didn't even seemed phased by my words. That wasn't right. I wanted them to hurt him. I wanted him to leave. I wanted him to go ahead and prove me wrong by staying. The idea that I might be right was too terrifying. The thought that I might give him a shot and be let down scared me.

"I'll remember… This right here… This is my vault." I lifted a hand and tapped my temple. "This thing is a steel trap. Remembers everything."

"We'll see. I have a feeling we'll be having this talk again." he shook his head.

"You're gonna have this talk again." I accused nonsensically.

"What?"

"You're gonna talk."

"You're not making any sense back there."

"You talk too much."

He shook his head and my head lolled against his shoulder. Small strands of his hair stuck to my now damp cheeks. They itched, but I was to tired to move my arm and scratch the skin. Forgetting myself for a moment I rubbed my face into his shoulder in an attempt to make the fabric of his shirt softer. Now I wasn't just fighting the booze induced haze, but now my eyes were burning from the tears.

"Go to sleep." he encouraged. I made a weird noise in the back of my throat. He had a good idea, but I'd never admit that. Not bothering to offer any other response I let myself slip into a dark dreamless sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: **_I DID IT. ANOTHER CHAPTER BEFORE A WEEK! I'm actually really excited about this! Thank you guys for the reviews. They gave me a huge burst of muse.

NinjaChipmunk: Thank you for your reviews! I believe Jiraiya would have a solid interest in any child he had. Regardless of their origin. Midori is making things a bit hard, but he is definitely trying to build some what of a relationship.

gunslayer12:Oddly enough I'm the opposite of Midori when it comes to being drunk. So the whole super pumped wanting to fight thing is new to me. Thank you for your challenge of getting this done in a week! It really got me pumped.

_**Disclaimer: **_I don't own Naruto. The lyrics are from the game To the Moon. Sange by Laura Shigihara called _Everything is Alright_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Why do my words<strong>_

_**Always lose their meaning?**_

_**What I feel, what I say**_

_**There's such a rift between them**_

_**He said, "I can't**_

_**Really seem to read you."**_

_**I just stood there**_

_**Never know what I should do**_

* * *

><p>One particularly happy ray of sunshine some how found the exact spot I'd be when I opened my eyes. I'm not one hundred percent sure how the rest of the room remained dark, but I'll be damned if I hadn't rolled into the one spot that had sunlight. Someone needed to do a better job at shutting the blinds. Hell, while they were at it a better blanket would be fantastic. This one was scratching my poor skin to hell.<p>

Wait a second…

I most definitely did not rent a room!

More than slightly alarmed I sat up. This ended up being a terrible idea as the movement caused my stomach to roll uncomfortably. Slapping a hand over my mouth I scrambled off the bed towards what looked like a bathroom. Scratch the blanket decided to wind around my legs. With the grace of a boar I topple out of the bed smacking my head on the wooden floor. Scrambling I made it into the bathroom.

Just in time too.

All of the junk I put in my body the night before vacated my body. After purging the crap in my system I rinsed my mouth at the sink. Splashing my face a few times I looked in the mirror. Low and behold I had myself a nice black eye. That was confusing. Why the hell did I have a black eye?

My eyebrows pushed together wrinkling my forehead as I tried to recall the previous night. I remember being irritated with that bastard and going off by myself. Then there was that shitty bar. How long did I stay there? The sake was okay, but nothing spectacular. After that most of everything was dark. I think I remember brawling with someone. Did I fight?

Who the hell knows.

Last night was over. Now I needed to figure out what was going on today. I would not have put myself in any kind of inn. One, I don't have the money. Two, they're far too public and make me paranoid. If I was taken advantage of last night someone was going to die. I didn't feel like that happened. In fact I felt pretty normal.

Wait no

Headache from hell.

I stand corrected.

* * *

><p>"Spirits, please." the groan slipped out of my mouth as I stepped from the bathroom. "Why is it that you are here every time I turn around."<p>

Sure as day the prick was sitting in the corner at a small table. Usually on his back, the giant scroll sat leaning against the bed. He was scribbling in that weird little notebook of his. Big surprise there. A moment of silence passed between us. Finally he spared me a glance. Didn't last very long as he went right back to his little book. He did however slide the other chair out with a kick of his foot. The noise of wood scraping on wood making me cringe.

"Take a seat." he offered congenially. How much longer could I deal with his carefree attitude? Sighing I rolled my shoulders and walked forward. Grabbing the rather simple chair I took a seat. Without looking up he pushed a glass of water and some pills towards me. Two pale little pills that would help me with the throbbing behind my eyes. Take those pills would mean I had to sacrifice a bit of my dignity.

I don't even care right now.

Cupping my hand over the pills I slid them towards me. My nails clicked on the glass of the cup as I seized it. Throwing my head back I popped the pills into my mouth and washed them down with the water. Thank every spirit and god out there for cold water. I drained the entire glass in one go. With a satisfied sigh I put the glass back down and looked at him with expectant green eyes.

"Well at least that makes sense." he shut the book and placed it in one of his pockets. Raising an eyebrow I leaned back to wait for the pain killers to kick in.

"Hmm?" was about all I could manage as I started to massage my scalp.

"You drink like a fish, and that was just water." a grin slid onto his face. Leaning forward he rested his chin on top of his folded hands. "Makes me wonder how much you went through last night. You were pretty trashed."

Suddenly my finger nails became very interesting.

"Well,must be some kind of vice I inherited from you. Kaa-chan disliked sake." I did my best to sound disinterested. "Just going to say…. your fault."

"Uh huh. So not only have you inherited my fantastic looks, but now my taste for finer things in life?" he said still grinning of my muscles tensed at the sharply I drummed my knuckles on the table.

"How did I end up here?" I asked trying to change topics.

"Steel trap." he said simply. I tilted my head to the side confused.

"What?"

"Don't worry about it."he sat back in his chair and looked off towards the window. "We can talk once we hit the road. You're nap put us behind schedule."

"You're hilarious. Sarcasm by the way. You're not very funny." I said starting to feel better. The painkillers were starting to work their magic. "We are not going anywhere. You might be, but I'm not."

"And do what? Get into more fights?" he asked impatience creeping into his voice. " You're going with me to Konoha. You can't just keep wandering from place to place. You'll get yourself killed."

"How touching." per the norm the longer I spent with him the worse my mood was. "Why would you care what happens to me? We're related by blood that doesn't mean shit. Why would I go to Konoha? Explain to me what could possibly await me in Konoha. I don't know any one there. Kaa-chan was from Kirigakure. So by all rights that is where I should go."

"You're not going to Kirigakure." his entire demeanor shifted now. The laid back mild irritation warped into controlled anger. Dark eyes narrowed at me and he leaned forward. " Let me put it to you this way. I don't care where you think you should be going. You're going with me to Konoha."

"And then what, hmm? We live happy ever after as father and daughter?" I snapped at him. "Sorry, not my gig. I do what I want when I want. That's how its always been. That's how it will stay."

"You have no idea what's going on out there do you?" he shook his head. "Its dangerous out there right now. Don't look at me like that. It's always been dangerous, but things are getting worse. If you stay on your own how long do you think you'll last? A few months? Konoha can give you protection."

"I can take care of myself." he was treating me like some kind of child. I knew how the world worked. I'd been in plenty of fights, granted I'd never killed anyone, but I knew how to hold my own.

"What do you plan on doing for money?" all of the color drained from my face. That was a good question. Kaa-chan always picked up our jobs. She never let me actually talk to clients. She said I was too temperamental to deal with them. "That's what I thought. So how about I make you a deal. Come with me to Konoha, and we'll find you some place to fit. If you want to be a ninja than we'll talk to the Hokage about it. If you want to plant flowers for the rest of your life then I'll help you."

"Being a leaf-nin means taking the tests. I've never taken any kind of test in my life." I grumbled as he started to make sense. "I refuse to be a genin. Hell, being a chunin would be kind of insulting"

"We can figure that out later." eyes shut and he released a slow breath. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Do I even get the option of saying no?"

"Not really."

* * *

><p>By the time we got away from the small village the sky had darkened considerably. Thick dark clouds blotted out the sun, and I found myself breathing a sigh of relief. All of the bright light didn't help my headache. Thunder rumbled lowly making little bumps pop up on my skin. Tonight there was going to be one hell of a storm. A cool wind warded off what heat had built up earlier in the day. Perfect travelling conditions in my opinion. I was reminded of the times Kaa-chan and I would hide under big trees to keep from getting soaked.<p>

Ahh, those were the days..

"If you're from Konoha then why don't you have a team?" I wondered out loud. Anguish started to swell in my chest, and I needed to divert my attention. Finding something to harass him with was the best remedy.

"My godliness is just too much for some people to handle." here we go with this bit.. "My comrades were always overwhelmed by my presence. Some even fainted."

"Yeah, okay. I doubt you could cause anyone to faint. Old man like you." I might have turned my nose up just a little. "I bet you're hard to work with. That's why they send you out by yourself."

"Eh, something like that." he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't tend to work with others. If you're lucky I might actually teach you a thing or two."

"Ha ha ha, I'll pass. Kaa-chan taught me plenty. I don't need to learn from an old geezer like you" there was absolutely no way in hell I needed to learn from him. Wait, I was doing the stubborn thing again wasn't I? I was probably the biggest idiot on the face of the planet. How many people would jump to be trained by someone as famous.

Not me.

Don't need him.

Don't want him.

Don't care.

"Well, the offer still remains if you change your mind." and so began our journey of awkward silence. All of this was completely different from what I was accustom to. Kaa-chan and I would always talk when we were on the road. She'd tell me old war stories, and I would share all of my daydreams.

I slammed the heel of my palm into my black eye. Pain shot through my head. The headache that had been fading came back with a vengeance. A bit masochistic on my end. Stupid idea! I doubled over from the pain. I panicked, but I wasn't thinking about Kaa-chan now.

For the most part the day passed by in a boring manner. The sky, heavy with rain, never erupted. Every half hour or so I'd feel a light rain mist over my skin. There was no lightning or down pour. Not like I wanted. In fact the rain waited until we were making camp to actually come down.

"That's about on par for the course." the bastard mumbled as our newly started fire was smothered by rain. I had snuggled my back into the crook of a rather large root of an ever bigger tree. Irritated he moved his stuff to a spot where it wouldn't get wet. Seeing as I only had my weapons and clothing I didn't have any of that to worry about.

"Yup. Just don't catch a cold. I don't do well with the sick and elderly." I ruffled my short white hair in an attempt to will the dirt away. I really should have bathed before we left. Oh well, looks like mother nature would do the job for me.

"Right back at you kid. I'd hate to see what happens when your sober and I have to carry you." he popped his neck and looked around thoughtfully. Little muscles in the corner of my eye twitch at the sound. "Inebriation makes you more likable."

"Do I even want to know?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Probably not. Anyway I'm going to secure the area. If you're not here when I get back I'll shave your head." I opened my mouth to snap back with some clever retort, but he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes passed<p>

Then five more.

And another five.

I grew impatient. He didn't have the right to make me wait like this. Boredom was killing my brain, and without him here I didn't have anyone to harass. So I found a way to entertain myself. Granted, I didn't do it in the best of ways. Looking around to make sure he wasn't creeping I left the shelter of my root.

"Alright, Daddy-o, let's see what kind of stuff you have hiding in here." I said crouching next to his pack. He didn't leave his scroll so I couldn't see what kind of juicy information he had hiding there. I started rifling through his pack. I was careful making sure I didn't disturb the content to much.

The fuck is this?

Worn and obviously well read I pulled out a book. Inspecting both the cover and back I felt a wave of nostalgia hit me. Kaa-chan was always reading books like this. In fact, she was an avid reader of this particular series. Make-out Paradise. The first book in some scandalous romance series. I had tried reading her copy once. She punched me square in the jaw when she saw me opening to the first page.

Kaa-chan and I had a weird relationship.

Looking around suspiciously again I put his belongings back, save the book. Flipping through all the pages with my thumb I took a moment to appreciate the feel of worn pages under hand. I wandered back to my little safe zone. He was gone for another fifteen or so minutes. Not being much of a reader I was only able to make it through the first chapter. but holy shit….

This book was actually pretty good.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:**_ That update took forever, but here it is!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Naruto. The song is Icon For Hire's _Sugar and Spic_e

_**Sometimes I say really dumb things**_

_**'Cause it's hard to talk and at the same time think**_

_**At the same time, I feel like I should have that down,**_

_**I should've figured out the conversation by now**_

_**There's a lot of time wasted hating the way I act,**_

_**Social skills I'm not sure I have**_

_**The list of what's wrong runs way too long**_

_**And I had no idea 'til you came along**_

* * *

><p>"GOD DAMMIT"<p>

I screamed my frustration about five days later. A rumble of displeasure started to vibrate the back of my throat. Snapping the orange book shut I looked up to see Jiraiya-bastard walking along like he never heard me.

Pinching the bridge of my nose I resisted the urge to hurl the book at the back of his didn't take a genius to figure out he wrote the damn thing. All of his talk about research and women lined up perfectly with some of the scandalously written scenes. As a whole the storyline was pretty good though.

Reading this damn book had been a pain in the ass. I lacked the will to put the stupid thing down. Stupid-face insisted on setting a blistering pace back to Konoha. Let me tell you how hard it is to fully appreciate a book while running and jumping from tree limb to tree limb. Most of my reading was done when he fell asleep or wandered off to do whatever the hell it was he did.

Mercifully my benevolent guide let us walk the last hour of our trip. I didn't even realize where we were until I shut the book. When I stopped rubbing my eyes I found myself staring at the tall gates that led to the entrance of what could only be Konoha. Traveling with Kaa-chan let me see a lot of weird places in my time. A low whistle escaped my lips as I craned my head back. Never had I seen something that well structurally enormous.

Look at me using big words.

No, but really, not only was the wall tall as hell, but the green gates were quite imposing as well. Seriously, how did they open and shut those things in a timely fashion? Moving those monsters had to take a lot of people. Well maybe if there was a special justu they cou-

"Pick it up Miyako. We got places to be."

Oh this sonovabitch was starting this again.

"OI! Don't walk off without me you bastard." scowling I jogged through the archway. He had paused in front of this weird looking hutt-bench-desk thing. Hands in his pocket he turned to look at me. Jerk was grinning and all.

"Stop your whining. The sooner we get you registered the sooner I can go see my Mikki-chan." his eyes got sparkly. Irritation and just the smallest bit of amusement blossomed in my chest. Mostly irritation. Irritation that I was irritated he was after women who were not Kaa-chan. Why did I even care?

"Strippers this early in the day? Lech." I grumbled. Then my brain caught onto his previous statement. "WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT REGISTERING?!"

"Wow, this one has a temper. So you like them feisty and young Jiraiya-san? Sure you can handle her?" a new voice entered the conversation. I spun around to find two males staring at me. One had a bandage across the middle of his face. The other had a mop of hair that covered one eye.

"Maybe we shouldn't get in the middle of this?" one eye said. Bandage guy was grinning like he had finally received some entertainment.

"Handle me?" I scoffed. Running a hand through my short hair I cocked my hip to the side just a bit. Huffing I crossed my arms just under my chest. Mustering the most disgustingly sweet voice I continued "And you think you could do a better job? Show me a good time?"

"Don't answer that." gone was the sparkle from my bastard father's eye. He actually looked serious as he glowered at bandage guy. Hands seized my shoulders and spun me away from the males. "Now that we are definitely done with that… Lets get moving."

He really does pick the weirdest times to be weird.

I was totally going to tear into that guy.

* * *

><p>Two hours later and a lot of paperwork later I was incredibly grumpy. Bastard-baka gave me some money after I pestered him. I'm pretty sure he was sick of hearing me whine and cry about being bored. Aggravating him for some money to go do something wasn't that hard. He was about as sick of my presence as I was his. Granted, he would probably coming looking for me again.<p>

Until that point and time I would be enjoying my freedom. The first thing I did was dropped by the book store. I almost didn't convince the book keeper to sell me the second and third books in the _Icha Icha_ series. To be fair I think the girl was too embarrassed to say anything. The moment I slapped the books on the counter she flushed a deep red and all but shoved me out of her book store.

Seeing as I had no idea where to go I just wandered aimlessly with my nose in the book. Again, I wasn't a fast reader. In a few hours I was only able to make it through a couple of chapters. By the time I looked up and blinked the sun was starting to sink in the sky. Warm orange and red light became hazy. Feeling rather content I found myself a nice tree. Reaching my hands up I stretched the kind of stretch that brought you onto your toes. Then I dropped to my ass and leaned against the tree.

Closing my eyes I let myself start to slip into a nice relaxed state. I kept myself aware enough to recognize any danger. Even in the heart of one of the safest villages I was not about to die because I got complacent. Out of habit I balled my chakra up as tight as possible to make sure no wandering idiot took notice of me. Might as well get some sleep while I can. Jiraiya-bastard would probably get himself too wasted to check us into any kind of hotel.

Muscles started to relax. For the first time since we left the last village I started to assess myself. Cutting my silvery white hair short had been good foresight. I hadn't bathed in days. Only the god know how much of a mess that would have been. Dirt and dried sweat made my skin itch. I needed to wash my clothes. No.. I needed new clothes. I'd been wearing the same pair since I left…

Well…

Yeah…

The more I started to think about the trivial things the heavier my mind seem to get. On my hip the weapon holsters felt light. No doubt they were running low. Wiggling my toes I felt the slight scratch of fraying leather. New shoes. I needed new shoes and new clothing. So much to do.

"Excuse me? Are you okay?"

Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit

Snapping my eyes open I found myself looking into an unfamiliar face. The sun had completely disappeared at this point. Had I really been sitting here that long? It only felt like a few minutes! More importantly… When did this guy get here!? Blinking rapidly I did my best to clear my eyes of the nap induced fog they had accumulated. Curious black eyes peered at me, and I did my best to play it cool.

"Eh? Yeah. Just fell asleep I guess." I don't think I'd be offended if he thought me some homeless vagrant. One, I definitely looked the part. Two, I technically was a homeless vagrant.

"It's not a good idea to just sleep in the open like this. Especially for a young lady." he was being friendly enough, but those words irritated me. He dressed like a lot of the Konoha-nin I had seen wandering around. Deep down a voice started screaming that I should kick his ass. Instead I sighed and put on the best smile I could muster.

"I think I can take care of myself, but thank you for your concern." he offered me a hand when I moved to stand up. Pausing I looked at his hand and then pushed it aside.

I don't need help.

I'm not just some weak girl.

Awkwardly the nin took a step back. His offered hand went back to his side. Straightening my spine I did my best to look tall. At least he wasn't that much taller. He only had a few inches on me. Staring at him I took in the little details. He didn't look like most of the other nin I saw wandering around. Sure he had the same green jacket with that weird long sleeve. A red swirly circle sat on his shoulder. The long sleeve came up his neck and over his chin. Instead of a simple forehead protector tied around his head he had a face plate… thing. I cocked my head to the side a minute as one thought occurred to me.

How did he not die of a heat stroke?

Konoha was in the Land of Fire. Now, that wasn't just a random ass name. The Land of Fire was hot. Not the beach kind of hot where you got nice breezes and lots of storms. No, this was the humid drink the air as soup kind of hot. I personally was wearing shorts and a tank top. Wraps covered my biceps and thighs, but aside from that I really didn't have much on.

Which was SMART.

Cause you know…

It's hot as balls.

"So what brings you to our village?" he asked keeping his tone casual. Running a hand through my grungy feeling hair I resisted the urge to sigh.

"A bath now that I think of it." my new friend coughed uncomfortably. Eyes widened a fraction on his part. Jeez it's not like I had asked me to join or anything. Why do guys automatically have to think of things like that? All perverts. Speaking of perverts.. "I'm going to kill him.."

"What?!" oh right.. There was some one with me.

"Uh, can you point me towards…" I tried to remember the name of the place. "Paper House… Blossoming… Uhhh.. Paper Blossom Tea House?"

"Why in the world would you want to go there?" his nostrils flared a bit. "Do you work there?"

"No. Stop. Dear god no." I held a hand up and waved it like I was trying to disperse the idea. "My idiot fath… nope.. not ready for that… For the sake of my pride we're gonna call him The Idiot. The Idiot said he would be spending his time there. I need to find him before he gets to trashed or .. how did he put it.. 'lost in Mikki-chan's loving bosom'."

"Are we talking about the same person you're going to kill?" he looked confused as hell. Which was fair enough.

"Uh… yeah. I was just joking about that. I'm not going to actually kill him. At least not right now. He's annoying but he's not that annoying. No, that's a lie he is that annoying." the word vomit wouldn't stop. What the hell was wrong with me? My social skills were definitely better than this.

"So you're not from around here." this time it was a statement and not a question. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Nope. Uh.. I'm registered though. I didn't get to talk to the Hokage. The Idiot said it was a bad idea. He needed to talk to her first. I don't know. I really just need to be clean. Food would be nice.." more rambling. "What time is it anyway?"

"Close to 4:30 in the morning." I groaned at that. This was just great. That stupid bastard just left me to do whatever. Never came looking for me. Wasn't worried if I'd eaten. Stupid man. How was I supposed to know where he even was!

"Miss.."

Him and his stupid research

"Miss.."

He's lucky he writes mediocre books.

"Miss."

Fingers snapped in front of my green eyes. Blinking a few times I looked back up at the strange nin. Silence passed between us for a solid minute. Then my stomach growled rather loudly. At this point I decided I could just die. The older nin smiled and my cheeks heated just a bit.

"I'm going to go hide in shame now." I muttered. That caused him to chuckle.

"I don't think you should be thinking about… the 'Tea House'. Breakfast would probably be the best place to start." he seemed really uncomfortable when it came to talking about the 'Tea House'. Why did we even call it that. Was a brothel really that scandalous?

"I don't have any money." I stated simply, but part of me wanted to whine.

"Yeah, yeah. Just promise to pay me back later, okay?" the hospitality seemed to come naturally. I felt myself jerk just a bit. No one just gave anything for free. Hairs stood up on my arms. Narrowing my gaze I looked very intently into his eyes, searching for some kind of deception.

Was he going to poison me?

Beat me up?

"Just breakfast I promise! No catch. No nothing." he put his hands up in a defensive manner. He didn't look much older than me so there was a chance that I could beat him in a fight. I was on his home turf though. I just needed to be careful.

"Okay… I'm Midori by the way."

"Yamato. Nice to meet you."


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **_WHOOOO! An update! Its a bit short, but fun. I love Midori so much. She is so much of what I am not. For those that asked. Midori is 18 years old. Naruto and the gang will be two years younger. So 16 years or so. She was with the toads a while.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10 years and the minutes fly<strong>_

_**From the day the MONSTER spoke inside of me**_

_**Dug deeper into my mind**_

_**"Keep on lying" said the monster anyway**_

_**So I've lied and I've been tricking ever since**_

_**No, not a single person out there can see what sits behind**_

_**Just a monster by now, can't deny that it fits**_

_**"Oh wait, my bad!" "Don't get mad" **_

_**"You know I'm just a liar in the end"**_

* * *

><p>As if to prove a point Yamato took me to a real tea house. Part of me was sad he didn't just show me to where Daddy-kins was staying. I could go for some sake. This guy made me feel super awkward. He was really quiet, and seemed totally at ease with the situation. Did he not realize I looked like a wet dog? Probably smelled like one too. Yet he walked casually into this nice little shop not even caring.<p>

"Uh.. thanks again." I swirled my tea and looked off to the side. He stared straight at me with a rather thoughtful look. "You're being really weird though. You didn't have them drug my drink or anything did you?"

"Wha.." he blinked a few times. God I love when I can blindside people. A bit of confidence came back to me. "No. No! Nothing like that. You just.. remind me of someone."

Oh..

UHHHG

THAT'S WHY HE WAS BEING SO NICE!

"Did he send you to babysit me?" I did my best not to ground my teeth. "If he did you're doing a shitty job. It would have been nice if you didn't wait until the ass crack of dawn to wake me up."

"No reason to get hostile. I'm just trying to help out." he returned in a stern way. I felt like I was getting scolded, but he didn't look innately angry. I made a mental note that it would take a bit to ruffle this one's feathers. "You keep talking about 'he'. Who are you looking for? You don't seem to like him very much."

I took a long sip of of my green tea I let the hot liquid burn my throat. Sighing I put the cup back on the table. Now I was being interrogated. First instinct I had was to tell him to sod off and walk away. Kaa-chan taught me better than that. When in a new place you had to make a good impression. Show everyone you are strong but reliable. That was how you got decent jobs. Unfortunately she'd never taken me inside of a large village.

Just the little ones.

Gotta check my pride.

"Sorry. Just a little irritable right now." I mumbled indignantly. " 'He' is my.. Fa...Daa.. Wow this is going to be harder than I thought. I'm his kid.. Yeah, we'll just put it that way. Bastard ditched me without saying a word. Probably passed out in some random woman's arms. I kid you not I was two steps outside after getting registered and POOF."

"Who is he though?" he prodded again. "Maybe I could help you find him."

"I'd much prefer to stare at you then him." I muttered. When he choked on his tea I couldn't help but grin. Yamato wasn't bad looking at all. Obviously he wasn't used to women voicing that fact. Covering his mouth he tried to hide the last few coughs and gasps for air before he settled. "Anyway, I'd like to just say he can kick rocks, but he's got all the he is probably spending on booze and women. Money I could use to eat and get clothes so I don't look like a dog with mange."

"I don't think you look like a dog." he said quietly. I fluttered my eyelashes at him. Boy did it feel good to flirt. His cheeks took a bit of color. "I can show you to the bath house. If you tell me who I'm looking for I can go find him. Tell him where you'll be."

"That.. would be heavenly." I groaned at the idea of a bath. This time I was rewarded with a darker shade of red on his cheeks. Glee filled me on the inside. Addicted to the interaction I kept the flirt on. "I would really appreciate that, Yamato-kun."

"Then its settled." he cleared his throat. "When we finish here I'll drop you by the bath house and go find him. What's his name?"

"Jiraiya the asshole."

He sat with his tea cup just in front of his lips. Dark eyes just stared at me. His expression was a mix of confusion and interest. Blinking a few times he set his glass down. The little green and white teacup clattered on the table. Stretching back I raised an eyebrow.

"How is that even possible." he asked more to himself than me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I mean I could explain to you how babies are made." I started. " So a man has this thing call a pen.."

"No! I mean.. I know how that works." he rubbed his face. "I just never expected Jiraiya to ever have any kids of his own. Let alone keep it a secret."

"To be fair our whole 'arrangement' just started." I leaned forward and rested my chin on top of my palms. "We've been going steady at this whole father daughter thing for a few weeks now. That's definitely an accomplishment. I hate his fucking guts, and I'm pretty sure he can't stand me."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me he didn't know about you?" he didn't look like he believed me. "There's no way he would do that."

"Well, sorry to disappoint, but daddy dearest has been MIA for eighteen years. Don't know why. Don't care why." I recited the lies like always with a bored tone. "Guess that's what happens when you sleep around."

"So your mother.." I held up a hand to stop him.

"Is not a subject that gets discussed. That bath, though…" he sighed. Obviously there were more questions he wanted to ask. Rubbing his eyes he dropped money on the table and motioned for me to follow.

"Alright, come on."

* * *

><p>To be clean was a wonderful thing. After scrubbing my pale skin until it was red I decided to soak. Okaa-san had taken me to a spring before, but that was in a small settlement. I thought this was supposed to be a luxury, but bathing in Konoha was apparently a public thing. Completely and one hundred percent normal.<p>

So I sat in the hot water for a long long time just watching the steam curl into little wisps. Warm stones pressed into the back of my neck. Muscles relaxed and I let my head tip back. The temptation to sink down so that the water cover me completely was almost too much to resist. If I wasn't worried about being thrown out on the street naked by the little woman manning the place I would have slept into that warm pool of water.

Sadly I had to get on with life.

Feeling a ton more relaxed I stepped out into the sun. Pausing I tilted my head up. Taking a deep breath I used my fingers to massage the base of my neck. Today started out pretty shitty, but things were starting to look up. Maybe I should ditch the old man and stick around Yamato. He was the only good thing that had happened in days.

"OI!" the voice startled me. "Old man!"

Blinking I looked left and then right. Hauling ass down the street was some blonde kid. Bright blue eyes were locked onto me. Which was confusing. I definitely was not an old man. Stepping to the side I looked behind me. Sure enough all there was behind me was the tall wooden walls of the bath house. Hair stood on the back of my neck. All the good feeling I was basking in disappeared.

A body connected with mine. The idiot in orange and black tackled me hard enough to knock me to the ground. Knees locked around my hips. Dirt puffed up around us is big clouds. Adrenaline made me tense, but the worse part of this all was the fact that I was getting dirt.

"Not gonna lie old man your Sexy no Jutsu isn't that bad." blue eyes studied me as I continued to stare. He had to only be a couple years younger than me. Definately a ninja given his strength and wardrobe. "I thought you'd make yourself bigger… you know.. here… Isn't that what you said you looked for in a woman?"

Lewdly he gestured towards his chest.

This…

Idiot…

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!" his reaction was instantaneous as my fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back off me holding his jaw. "What was that for?"

"That one was for tackling me after the nice bath I just had." I sat up and cracked my knuckles. "The next one will be for the comment against my figure."

"Don't get so upset, old man." he said rubbing the tender spot. "Sheesh. I thought you could take a joke."

A hand grabbed my wrist when I went to lunge at the blonde idiot. Turning my head I saw my bastard of a father shaking his head. He had a rather amused look on his face. Snorting I reigned myself in. Eyebrows rose and I heard this odd noise come from the blonde. He was shifting his gaze back and forth between Jiraiya and me.

"Wha..bu.." he sounded like a dying squirrel. "How? I thought.."

"Naruto meet Midori. Midori meet the village idiot."


End file.
